Believe
by Ally R. Swan
Summary: Lucy wants her family back. Will she be able to convince Henry in time for Christmas? Holiday One-Shot.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon A Time or any of its characters. Everything belongs to ABC and Disney.**

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Lucy's POV

I didn't know what else I could do to make him believe. I feel like I have tried practically everything and I still have no luck. I wonder if Henry had this much trouble when he tried to get Emma to believe. Probably not, considering when she kissed him in the hospital, the kiss worked and broke the curse. According to Regina, he had done that when I was in the hospital and it didn't work. And I had hoped when Mr. Samdi cured him that getting the curse broken would be easy; I should have known it wouldn't be. Henry and my mom kissed. I don't understand why the true love kiss didn't work. It should have at least made him remember, but it didn't do anything but make me seem crazier. I was running out of ideas. I was trying not to lose hope, but I don't know how much longer I can keep this up, especially now. The only thing I care about is having my dad back. I've already lost a year with him and though I have him here, it is far from the same. I couldn't feel farther from him. He doesn't believe that I'm his daughter and every time he tells me that I just feel rejected. I do know the truth. Regina and Mr. Samdi confirmed it when they told me the curse is real and when they cured his poisoned heart. I know I am his daughter but that doesn't take the hurt away every time he refuses to believe it and tells me that he is not my father. I don't know how much more of this rejection I can take; but I was going to try one last time.

I texted Henry and asked him to meet in the park. A lot of the kids in town were ice skating there because the lake was frozen. It was a fun spot. I wasn't very good at ice skating but as long as I didn't hurt myself too bad it was still fun. Today, the park was practically empty as people were on heading on vacation—as far as they could get out of the Heights; at least for the holiday. I was able to slowly skate around the pond as I waited for Henry to show.

"Lucy!" I looked up and saw Henry. I almost slipped in the attempt of getting off the pond to go over to him. "Careful there."

"Yeah, I'm not the best ice skater." I said. I know I am not going to get very good, so I'll settle for not falling too many times.

"So why did you call me here?" Henry asked and I sighed. I probably should have thought this through. I am not sure what to say—as far as trying to get him to believe me again. "Where's your mom?"

"Working." I said.

"Why aren't you in school?" He asks.

"Winter break." I told him and he nodded. "For someone who claims not to be my father, you seem concerned."

Henry sighed, "Lucy, not this again."

"You saw those papers that Nick stole from the hospital. I know he was crazy but he wasn't completely crazy." I said, not sure if that made much sense. "Those papers said that you are my father and you are."

"Lucy, how did you know about that?" Henry asked, crossing his arms.

"Roni told me." I said. I had told her about the kiss not working and we've been trying to figure out a way to get him to believe; we need him to remember. She thinks that his memories won't come back because Henry doesn't believe in magic at all anymore; probably because of growing up and his messed up adult memories.

"Why is she telling you all that?" He asked, shaking his head.

"Because she is trying to help me—help me get you to believe again. Just like you did to your mom, Emma." I replied.

"Lucy that is a story." Henry said. "I told you that I never had a mother. No one gave me a home. Emma and Regina—they are just fiction. They aren't real. None of that—magic and fairy tales—is real. I am just a regular guy who couldn't save their family."

"I _am_ your family. My mom and I are your family." I continued with it. But I was starting to wonder what the point is since Henry seemed so insistent that it isn't real. "You just can't remember because—" I stopped, not sure why he kept rationalizing it away. "Why don't you want to remember? Do you not want to have us back? I know you do."

"Lucy—"

"What is it, Henry?" I asked, starting to get upset that he was still refusing to believe. You'd think after the whole incident with Nick and with these papers he would at least be open to the possibilities. But he keeps rationalizing the belief away and I just don't understand why he can't believe. If he did, he could have everything again. "Why won't you believe? We're right here! Your wife, your mother, your daughter—I am your daughter!"

"Lucy!" Henry yelled at me and I flinched at the harshness. "Enough!" He said and then placed a hand on my shoulder. "You are not my daughter. My daughter's name was Abigail and I lost her. I do love your mother and I thank you for bringing us together, but the reality is, though Jacinda and I do have feelings for each other, all this talk about fairy tales—this stuff you keep insisting is real, isn't." He said and I felt my entire world crashing down. "You are _not_ my daughter."

I pulled away and started to cry. I just wanted my father back and it didn't seem like I was ever going to have it.

Henry's POV

I just don't understand why she still hangs onto this belief. In hindsight, if it wasn't for that belief I never would have met Jacinda. I am grateful to Lucy for bringing me here. I found love again and it was something that I never thought I would have again after I lost Lauren and Abigail. I really love Jacinda and I have grown to love Lucy as well but that doesn't change the fact that she isn't my daughter. I do not care what those tests say—there has to be some explanation that makes sense. There has to be some mistake because before Lucy found me, I never met Jacinda. Unless Nick stole my sperm and put it in Jacinda—which I wouldn't completely put past him considering his mental state—there is no possible way that Lucy can be my daughter. None of this is true; it can't be. I thought this belief was a way for her to cope but now that things were looking brighter, I would have thought she would have given it up. And what makes it worse is it seems that Roni is feeding the fire. Why the hell would she do that? I'll have to talk to her later. I just don't understand why she won't just accept what is real.

When Lucy started to cry, I instantly felt bad. I just wanted to make her understand. I don't know why I thought yelling at her would accomplish anything except upsetting her. I felt horrible and I wanted to undo what I had done. "Lucy," I tried but she pushed me away. "I'm sorry, please don't cry." I crouched down. "Look, I can be a father to you."

"No, you are my father." Lucy cried. "Please, why can't you believe?"

"Lucy, I'm not." I said, sighing. I couldn't just give in to these impossible claims. "And your mother is not Cinderella. None of that is real. You will have to realize it eventually. We all have to grow up."

"I wish you never grew up!" Lucy yelled before running off.

"Lucy!" I called but she continued to run off. I sighed, standing up as I watched her run off back to the ice pond and skate on it, crossing her arms as if she were holding herself. I put my head in my hands for a moment, contemplating on what I could do. I don't know if there is anything I could say to make this better. _I don't know what to do_. Then there was sound of cracking and then a splash, followed by a scream. I looked back up and noticed there was a hole in the ice and I didn't see Lucy. _Oh god._

"Lucy!" I yelled as I rushed over and without hesitation I jumped in. I pulled her from the water and then pulled myself back onto the ice. Lucy coughed once she was back on the ice and then shivered harshly as she started to cry again. "Lucy, are you okay?"

"I…I…hurts." Lucy cried and then I saw she was bleeding through her jeans. She must have cut herself on the ice before falling in.

"It's going to be okay." I reassured as I scooped her up in my arms and carried her off the ice. The hospital was down the street and I knew I had to get her there quickly. It would be faster than taking my Prius.

"Daddy." Lucy cried. "It hurts."

"You're going to be okay." I just repeated as I walked through the doors of the hospital and then looked around frantically for someone to help. "Somebody help me!"

"What happened?" The doctor asked as he and a nurse pushed a gurney over and I place Lucy down on it.

"Ice skating and…she fell through the ice…I looked away for a second." I said, shaking my head and keeping a hand on Lucy's shoulder as the hospital staff attended to her.

"What is your relationship?" The doctor asked.

I looked from the doctor down to Lucy and then back up at him. "I'm her father." I told them and then looked back down at Lucy, stroking her wet hair. "She cut her leg on the ice, I think."

"Daddy, don't leave me." Lucy cried out as they moved her to a treatment room.

"I'm right here Lucy." I called back, following right behind and once she was moved and out of her wet clothes and into a gown, they allowed me back in the room. I stood by her side as they began to examine her wound.

"Okay, get her on an IV." They said. Probably to help combat the hypothermia from falling through the ice. "Her leg is going to need stitches."

"Daddy." Lucy cried.

"Don't be scared, Luce." I said, taking her hand and squeezing tightly. "Daddy's here and he's not going anywhere." I reassured and I did all I could to comfort her while they gave her the IV and then while they carefully cleaned up the cut. I took her hand and squeezed when they prepared to give her the numbing shot for the stitches. "Just look at me. Squeeze my hand, its okay." I told Lucy, keeping a firm grip on her hand as she squeezed tightly.

The doctors patched Lucy up and started to give her fluids. They also brought her a blanket. Lucy managed to shut her eyes and fell asleep after they finished with treating her. When she did, the doctor brought me out in the hallway saying that I could take her home in a few hours after the IV bag emptied. They said things looked good. Luckily she wasn't in too bad shape and I brought her in quickly. After he finished talking to me I went to call Jacinda, whom came rushing over immediately.

"What happened?" Jacinda asked. "Where's Lucy?"

"She's fine. She's okay." I told her. "She was ice skating and she fell through the ice. She's okay. She had a cut on her leg and they have to give her stitches, but besides that she is fine. They'll release her in a few hours."

Jacinda sighed in relief and she hugged me. "Thank god you were there." She said. "Why did it take you this long to call me?"

"I would have called but Lucy was scared and I didn't want to leave her." I said, honestly.

"They should have called me right away. They would have needed a parent to sign off—"

"I kind of told them I was her father." I admitted.

"What?"

"In my defense, Lucy kept calling me 'daddy' a few times while we were here." I added.

Jacinda shook her head. "It's fine, you did what you had to. They wouldn't have let you stay otherwise." She said, trying to understand. "I can't believe she still believes that you're her father."

"I mean there are those test results from the hospital." I pointed out and Jacinda looked at me, arching an eyebrow.

"Henry Mills, you're not saying you believe that you're her father, are you?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "I don't know." I said honestly because I wasn't sure what to believe. I had talked to experts and they confirmed that the test results were accurate. But it wasn't just the test results. I had been trying to deny it since I met that girl but there was just something strange with everything here in this town and this wouldn't be the strangest thing.

"Henry, we talked about this. You would have remembered." Jacinda reminded me of our conversation from a week ago right after Nick was arrested.

"I know." I nodded. "And I know this is impossible to believe. But when Lucy fell through that ice, I felt—it was like my heart was in my throat. It scared me and without thinking I dove in after her. I haven't felt anything like that since I lost my family." I explained. I couldn't completely explain it but I almost starting to wonder if it was that crazy to believe that I could be her father; crazier things have happened.

"You really believe everything Lucy says?"

"I mean I am not sure about the whole fairy tale thing, but I mean what if she is right? I could be." I said. Maybe it's time I started believing in the impossible; like my character did. "It can't be crazier than you having a kid with Nick."

Jacinda laughed slightly. But she chose not to comment and decided that she just wanted to see Lucy. I led her back to where Lucy was. She was still asleep. We sat by her beside until she woke up.

"Mom." Lucy sat up and hugged her mother.

"Lucy, I was so worried." Jacinda said. "Are you okay?"

Lucy nodded, "Of course I am. Dad saved me."

I placed my hand on Jacinda's shoulder, in case she felt the need to say something in regards to that. Technicalities didn't matter right now. The only thing that truly mattered was that Lucy was safe and doing better.

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Eventually, Lucy was able to get discharged and the three of us went home, to Jacinda's apartment. Jacinda invited me to join when Lucy practically insisted that I had to spend Christmas with them. Neither one of us wanted to disappoint Lucy now. I was also happy that Jacinda had no objections. Though we weren't the traditional family, it might be nice to be with someone during the holidays; it was something I haven't had in a long time. We took it easy that night, letting Lucy be the judge of how we spent the night. And then eventually Jacinda wanted Lucy to get some rest but she refused to go to bed unless I read her a story.

I sat next to her on the bed and pulled out _The Night Before Christmas_ and read it to her. She leaned against my shoulder as I read it. I couldn't help but smile to myself as I would glance back at her every so often. She seemed happy. And if I was being honest, this was nice and it made me feel happy. When I finished the story I set it down and then got off the bed. I covered her with the blankets and Lucy looked at me with her eyes open just a crack.

"Get some sleep Lucy." I said, running a hand through her hair.

"Do you believe?" Lucy suddenly asked. She seemed barely awake.

"In Santa? Sure, I believe." I chuckled slightly.

"In_ me_. Do you believe in me? Do you believe that you're my father now?" Lucy asked and I sighed for a moment, actually trying to figure out if I did. I have denied it so many times without thinking about it since I met this girl, but thing is, now I am questioning why I never thought it couldn't be true. Everything that has happened since she brought me to Hyperion Heights has been strange but it was like I was meant to be here. And for some reason, now I was starting to believe that there is a possibility she is right and this is much more than her having a fan-girl fantasy or coping mechanism. I couldn't deny the way I felt today when she got hurt. It was just something different. I felt things for Lucy; I felt love for her; like a father would. I haven't loved like this in a very long time. I thought after losing my family that I would never be happy again but Lucy brought me here and it gave me more than I ever thought I would have again. There is just something that makes me want to believe.

"Maybe I should believe." I said. One thing I couldn't deny anymore is how I felt for not only Jacinda, but Lucy as well. "I love you, Lucy." I leaned and kissed her on the forehead and then suddenly I felt a rush as memories started to coming back to me. I shut my eyes as these images flooded my head and then suddenly it all cleared up. I looked down at her and smiled. _I remember_.

"You're my daughter." I said.

"Daddy?" Lucy sat up and I hugged her tightly in my arms. "You did believe. It worked!"

"And you never gave up." I said.

"You never let Emma give up." Lucy smiled. "You broke the curse." I kissed her on the forehead again, feeling like I could cry just looking at her now and with having my memories back.

"Henry." I turned around and saw Ella standing there. Before she could make a move, I went over and embraced her in my arms and spun her around. I placed her down and just looked at her for a moment.

"Ella." I said, softly and then our lips touched. "I found you."

"Your family does that." Ella smiled. "But I think your daughter is the one that found you." I nodded and then looked back to Lucy whom then jumped out of bed and then ran over to us, wrapping her arms around both of us.

"She did." I nodded, placing one hand on the top of her head. "She brought me home."

"And just in time for Christmas." Lucy added.

Ella and I chuckled. Though it was true. I scooped Lucy up in my arms and she placed her head on my shoulder as Ella wrapped her arms so they were surrounding us both. I shut my eyes, holding onto that moment. I wanted to savor this for as long as I could; I now had my real family back. I was never going to lose that again.

Ella and I decided not to have Lucy go to bed just yet. Though it may be late and it had been a day, this family needed some quality time. We heard our phones going off. Now with the curse broken we knew there were people we all had to see and that we needed to talk to. I knew there would also be work that needs to be done, but not tonight. The only thing I cared about is that I have my family back and I want to hold onto to that. I just want to think about having my family back in time for the holidays—like Lucy wanted. We decided to use this time tonight to celebrate. I made us all hot chocolate with cinnamon and we put on the Hallmark channel to watch a holiday movie. We curled up under the blankets together and watched.

After it ended, I kissed Ella on the lips and then we both looked down at our daughter, whom had fallen asleep half way through the movie. She was sleeping peacefully. I kissed her on the forehead. I didn't get up. I wanted to leave her as she is for now. We had everything again. We found everything was lost. And Lucy had gotten her wish; to have her family for her Christmas. I ran my fingers gently through her hair and said, "Thank you for making me believe again."

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**A/N: This was the first one-shot I finished. At the time I was obsessed with writing Henry-Lucy stuff as well as Glass Believer. I am also involved in an Post Season 7 RP so that also helped the inspiration. **

**Please don't forget to review.**


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